2002 Bentley Arnage Turbo, Red Label, 50k on 2040-cars

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Driving the 2020 Bentley Continental GT V8 'home' to Brooklands

BROOKLANDS, England – ‘Continental GTÂ’ embodies an idealized dream of carefree, trans-continental drives to the French Riviera or glamorous Swiss ski resorts. In reality and spirit, a long, long way from a gray January day in what is now a grocery store parking lot in a nondescript London suburb. But this place, or specifically the moss-covered concrete banking surrounding it, is as important to BentleyÂ’s identity as 1930s playboys racing express trains across France, amateur heroes triumphing at Le Mans or the image of luxurious sedans crunching the gravel driveways of stately English homes. In the modern age of Bentley, the racing history at Brooklands, and its expression through hardware supplied by its Volkswagen owners, is what underpins the brand. IÂ’ve got 1,000 miles at the wheel of the latest V8 Continental GT to find out if that Brooklands tradition has been carried forth; to see if this Bentley is still a Bentley. ItÂ’s an interesting moment to be driving a Continental GT, too. For all the British heritage this car embodies, it's dependent on the centralized resources and manufacturing muscle of parent Volkswagen. The same goes for the Group's other brands defined by tradition and local price: Lamborghini, Porsche and even Audi. Yet, IÂ’m enjoying this car just days before Britain formally quits the European Union. The implications are still to be fully understood but it puts Bentley in an especially perilous position, given it depends on overseas production and the free movement of parts from the continent to keep its factory running. Sure, Bentleys are meant to be expensive. But if that margin is suddenly consumed by tariffs on bodies from Volkswagen, engines from Porsche and gearboxes from ZF, the business case looks even shakier than it has been  in the recent past. Nobody knows how itÂ’ll shake out but one answer for VW would be to relocate the whole business to Germany rather than keep building them here. YouÂ’d still have cars branded as Bentleys if that happened. But would they still be Bentleys? We talk about intellectual property. Arguably here weÂ’re talking about emotional property. And the Englishness that makes the cars what they are.   Because more than anything, a Bentley is a feelgood car, even when your reality is grimy winter roads and a coating of salt on your fancy paint.

New Bentley Flying Spur will be first Bentley with four-wheel steering

We just got a bundle of details about the new Bentley Flying Spur. Among them is, finally, an official reveal date of June 11. Besides that, the Flying Spur features the latest driving technologies from other current Bentleys, as well as a first for the brand. The company revealed that the luxury sedan will be the first Bentley to get four-wheel steering. It will operate similarly to other systems from other brands, in which the rear wheels will turn slightly in the opposite direction of the front wheels at low speed for maneuverability, and at high speed the rear wheels will turn slightly with the front wheels for extra stability. The Flying Spur also picks up features from other current Bentleys. It gets an all-wheel-drive system that now sends all its power to the rear wheels unless the front wheels start to slip. It will also have the Bentley Dynamic Ride suspension that includes anti-roll bars that are constantly adjusted via a 48-volt electrical system. And of course we get a little visual teaser of the car with a video. It seems to confirm the slightly more blunt look predicted by an earlier teaser. Stay tuned for the full reveal in a couple of weeks.

Bentley targeting Range Rover with 12-cylinder SUV

The eventual arrival of Bentley's upcoming SUV in 2016 will likely prove the most pivotal new product to come from Crewe since the debut of the Continental GT in 2003. And Bentley isn't messing around.
The British automaker is taking aim directly at the Range Rover, saying that it will be just as capable off-road. That's a mighty big claim for a company that has never made an off-roader before, but comes with good reason: Bentley estimates that nearly 30 percent of its customers have a Range Rover as well, and the company is keen to take a slice of that pie.
There are, however, several elements that will elevate the Bentley Falcon (as it's expected to be called) above Range Rover territory. For starters, according to Automotive News Europe, which spoke to Bentley marketing chief Kevin Rose at the Frankfurt show, the Falcon will be more expensive. The sticker price in Europe is expected to hover around 180,000 euros - double the flagship Range Rover's starting price. It'll also be available with four-, five- and seven-seat configurations. And it'll offer more power. A lot more power.